The U.S. Attorney in St. Louis was demanding that the Chicago tabloid turn over its accounting records, e-mails, and phone logs related to ads from online gambling outfits -- ads that sports papers like PFW had run for nearly a decade.

In September, 2003, Arkush caved: He pulled the ads, took a $2 million revenue hit, and laid off 22% of his staff. "It has been a pretty miserable year," he says. "We're not breaking any laws, but who wants to battle the Justice Dept.?"

The Justice campaign has sent a chill through several industries despite the fact that there is no explicit federal law against online gaming -- something lawmakers want to remedy.

"Our revenues are greater than Yahoo!'s (YHOO ). Our profits are greater than Amazon's. It's ridiculous," says Alex Czajkowski, marketing director for Sporting Bet PLC in London, which processed $2.5 billion in wagers last fiscal year for a $39.5 million operating profit.

On Nov. 10, Antigua won a World Trade Organization ruling that the U.S. violates international trade rules by, among other things, allowing credit cards to be used for domestic gambling but not online wagering.

The US has told a UN conference on global warming that it has no intention of re-joining international efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The chief American negotiator at the conference in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires ruled out any move to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol for years.

Dr Watson, who is leading the American delegation here, told a news conference that this was not the moment for the US to reassess its policies.

But Dr Watson admitted that even if the US achieved its target, it would still be producing 15-16% more greenhouse gases while the rest of the industrialised world was committed to an absolute reduction.

He was scathing about the way the rest of the world was approaching climate change, arguing that the Kyoto Protocol was a political document and not based on sound science.

The Bush administration opposed security measures for new microchip-equipped passports that privacy advocates contended were needed to prevent identity theft, government snooping or a terror attack, according to State Department documents released Friday.

The ability to read remotely, or "skim," personal data raises the possibility that passport holders would be vulnerable to identity theft, the ACLU said. It also would allow government agents to find out covertly who was attending a political meeting or make it easier for terrorists to target Americans traveling abroad, the ACLU said.

Frank Moss, deputy assistant secretary of state for passport services, said the United States wants to ensure the safety and security of Americans traveling abroad.

The documents obtained by the ACLU show that information technology experts and countries including Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain share the suspicion that the international standard set for the electronic passports inadequately protects privacy and security. The standards don't require that data be encrypted.

A group of geeks aimed to find out whether running cheap vodka through a brita water filter would make it drinkable. They claim after several passes through the filter the cheap vodka surpassed the premium Ketel One in drinkability tests. I think they should have done the test 'double blind' although drinking Vladmir Vodka probably could make you go blind anyways... =)

Homeland security officials accidentally revealed on Friday that the Transportation Security Administration will soon officially order America's airlines to turn over a month of passenger data to test a new passenger screening system.

The TSA announced in late September its intention to order all 72 domestic airlines to turn over the passenger records -- which can include credit card numbers, phone numbers, addresses and health conditions -- in order to stress-test a centralized passenger screening system called "Secure Flight."

"Our concern is understandable: Airlines cannot be subject to the potentially conflicting demands of TSA's Secure Flight test program and European (or other nations') data protection requirements," wrote ATA Deputy General Counsel James L. Casey.

"TSA is aware of, and sensitive to, the need to preserve Americans' freedom while pursuing better security," the agency wrote.

A networking research and development outfit claims that the Mighty Microsoft is planning to take over the internet by retroactively claiming IP (intellectual property) rights over many of the Internet's basic protocols.

Merit Network's Larry Blunk said that having a quick squint at Microsoft's Royalty Free Protocol License Agreement, the software colossus seemed to be suddenly claiming IP rights to many vital Internet protocols.

Some of the RFC protocols include the TCP/IP protocols and the DNS (Domain Name System), are key bits of the Internet's network infrastructure.

He notes that Vole does not specify how this list of protocols was derived and to what extent it has investigated their possible rights holdings over them.

Tuesday's release of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" to DVD is getting special treatment at online discount shop Overstock.com, but it may not be the type of attention the director would appreciate.

The Web merchant is promoting the DVD release of the most commercially successful documentary ever right alongside a relatively unknown one called "Fahrenhype 9/11," which Overstock describes as "a new documentary that challenges the assertions of Michael Moore in his highly publicized film."

The anti-Moore film features interviews with Fox News Channel commentator Dick Morris and three speakers from last month's Republican National Convention--actor Ron Silver, former New York mayor Ed Koch and Georgia Sen. Zell Miller. The film, which its makers insist is nonpartisan, has not received much play in theaters.

By contrast, Moore's film, which is critical of the Bush administration and its drive to wage a war in Iraq, is an award-winning documentary and the first to top the $100 million mark at theater box offices.

While the major labels and other indie labels are considering the use of copy-protected CDs in order to prevent disc contents being quickly ripped and posted on P2P networks, !K7 has rejected the idea.

"Copy protection kills customer relationships," the label says on its website. "That's why, from now on, !K7 releases will carry a new logo: 'NO copy protection - respect the music."

The company believes it's all a matter of trust. "Only those to whom respect is given show respect themselves," it notes. In other words, treat your customers as potential pirates and they'll soon tell you to f**k off and not buy your product.

Such an outcome certainly appears to have prompted labels who once touted copy-protection technology to drop it. In September, for example, Sony Music Entertainment and fellow Japanese label Avex both announced plans to stop using CD lock-down mechanisms.

!K7's approach is founded upon the principle that P2P downloads don't in fact represent lost sales - they're casual listeners who probably wouldn't by its CDs in any case.

PayPal, the online payments arm of eBay Inc. (EBAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research), on Friday said it will soon fine people up to $500 for uses related to gambling, adult content or services, and buying or selling prescription drugs from noncertified sellers.

The new policy, which takes effect Sept. 24 and applies to both buyers and sellers, marks the first time PayPal has imposed fines for violations of its use policy, spokeswoman Amanda Pires said.

PayPal processes transactions on the Net and at one time had received almost 10 percent of its revenue from online gambling. But it halted the practice under regulatory pressure after its acquisition by eBay in 2002 and now prohibits the processing of gambling and adult transactions. Now it has decided to enforce that policy with fines.

The British Library is putting online 93 high-resolution digitised copies of 21 of Shakespeare's plays.

The texts date from Shakespeare's lifetime and are pamphlet editions of plays prepared to be sold after performances had finished.

"The quartos were cheaply produced and would have been available for as little as sixpence," said Moira Goff, head of British Collections 1501-1800 at the British Library.

"Given that Shakespeare left no manuscripts behind, the quartos are as close as we are able to get to what he actually wrote," said Ms Goff.

The 21 plays featured on the website include many of Shakespeare's best known works including King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Love's Labours Lost, Romeo and Juliet and Othello.